Haha. Yeah, I've had J-ramen. I'll comment on that with photos when I get them later.
Regarding the H-shops, I do admit I enjoy the option of being able to walk into one of them without being accused of stuff.
I ended up walking through entire levels of shops without the pressure of leading the group, keeping them together, having a destination and seeing if everyone's bored.
I pretty much ditched the map and wandered until it was time to go. Good times.